Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç Soyerattended the sheep and goat distribution ceremony in Urla. Stating that they continue to support the small producer with the vision of “Another Agriculture is Possible”, Soyer said, “We buy the milk of sheep and goats from the producer at twice the price. The dairy products we will produce will also be delicious and healthy products that the citizens need.”
Created with the vision of “Another Agriculture is Possible” and pioneering an exemplary development model for the whole of Turkey with its projects for local producers and rural areas, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality continues to support small producers and enrich the agricultural diversity in the region. Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç Soyerattended the sheep and goat distribution ceremony in Urla. One ram and three sheep were handed over to each of the producers who completed their breeding training, after drawing lots.
The President attended the ceremony held in Urla Marketplace for animal distribution. Tunç Soyer together with CHP Party Assembly Member Sevgi Kılıç, CHP İzmir Provincial President Deniz Yücel, CHP İzmir Deputy Kani Beko, İzmir Village-Koop Union President Neptün Soyer, Karaburun Mayor Ilkay Girgin Erdoğan, İZSU General Manager Aysel Özkan, Urla Chamber of Agriculture President Muharrem Uslucan , headmen, producers and citizens participated.
“The current agricultural policy is crashing the small producer”
President Soyer stated that they set out with the vision of "Another Agriculture is Possible" and said, "Why do we say this? Because the agricultural policy in Turkey collapsed. It is not possible to build the future with this agricultural policy. At the core of this agricultural policy is imports. As we import, production decreases, and eventually the producer disappears. The current agricultural policy is a policy that increases foreign dependency, collapses and weakens the small producer at home. There is no planning in this agricultural policy. Since there is no planning, the manufacturer does not know when, where, what to produce, where to market, and how much to market. There is no state there. The producer himself says, 'I will plant artichokes this year'. He doesn't make money, he takes it out next year, he plants lavender. There is a small producer, completely derelict, completely forgotten. You have to plan first," he said.
“Product pattern should be planned”
Stating that the planning should be at the scale of the basin, Mayor Soyer said, “Because the climate of the basin, its angle to the sun determines the fertility of the soil. Drought and poverty are two main areas that need to be tackled. Due to unplanned production, groundwater was drawn too deep. While it used to draw water at 15-20 meters, now it has become unavailable at 200-300 meters. The re-product pattern needs to be planned,” he said.
“We will obtain healthy and delicious products”
Stating that they encourage small cattle breeding with less water consumption within the scope of combating drought, Chairman Soyer said, “We have taken out the shepherd's inventory of İzmir. We identified 4 shepherd friends. We started to buy milk from their animals at twice the market price. We also made an advance payment before we received the milk. With the factory we will establish in Bayındır, we will also process sheep, goat and buffalo milk. We will make cheese and yogurt. Because sheep and goat milk, which has been blended with cow's milk until now, has lost all its characteristics, nutrition and taste. We will not allow this. We will continue to buy ovine milk from the producer at twice the price. The dairy products we will produce will be much more delicious and healthy products that the market and the citizens need.”
“This is not destiny, it is possible to change”
President Soyer stated that this geography can offer a much higher level of quality of life to the producer and concluded his words as follows: “But it does not. That's why I'm the mayor, that's why I'm involved in politics. Because this is not destiny. It is possible to change this. We are changing that. We will continue this struggle until the sons of our producer, who farms and cultivates these lands, say, 'I will become a farmer too'. Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk did not say 'The peasant is the master of the nation' for nothing.
“Our Bronze President did not take his hand off us”
Urla Chamber of Agriculture President Muharrem Uslucan stated that there were 1987 thousand cattle in Urla in 20, and today there are 2 thousand cattle in the district. Muharrem Uslucan, stating that the population to be fed is increasing gradually, said, “There is talk that the food crisis will affect the whole world. As a country, we actually have the capacity to feed the world with the right agricultural policies. But the point is clear. For this very reason, the agricultural policies and supports of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality for local producers and rural areas are of vital importance for each producer. Our Tunç President has not taken his hand off us since the day he took office. After the big fire in Urla, the Metropolitan Municipality started a fire-resistant ecological afforestation work. To date, tens of thousands of fruit and olive saplings have been distributed. We received the right pesticide products against the pests that destroy our products, fertilization according to the needs of the soil, training and many support. But the most crucial for us was the support we received when our greenhouses were damaged due to hail last year. Our Tunç President was the only one who took care of our Urla producers in the most difficult times. Nearly 90 thousand liras of aid was given to 800 producers in Kuşçular Village.
13 thousand sheep and goats were distributed
Within the scope of the project, which has been implemented to support animal husbandry in rural and mountain villages, so far, Aliağa, Bayındır, Bergama, Beydağ, Dikili, Güzelbahçe, Karaburun, Kemalpaşa, Kınık, Kiraz, Menderes, Menemen, Ödemiş, Seferihisar, Selçuk, Tire, Torbalı and Urla districts. Approximately 419 thousand sheep and goats were distributed to 3 thousand 500 producers, 13 of which were women.
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